Hydrocarbon engine



Oct. 4, 1932. E. H. TOWLE HYDROCARBON ENGINE Filed' Jm. 6, 1931 mvwoz Yczwao M ATTORNEY Patented Oct. 4, 1932 ELLINGWQOD H. TOWLE, OFLARCHMONT, NEW YORK HYDROCARBON ENGINE Application filed January 6,1981. Serial No. 506,908.

My invention relates to engines of the hydrocarbon type wherein amixture of fuel and air is compressed and exploded in cylinders to causereciprocation of the pistons and it is especially useful as applied tohydrocarbon engines used for driving automobiles, aeroplanes and othervehicles. The invention is applicable to a single cylinder engine aswell as to various multi-cylinder types, in the latter case theinvention being duplicated for each cylinder. With the understandingthat the invention is adapted for use regardless of the number ofcylinders, I have illustrated it in the drawing of the present caseembodied in an engine having two cylinders merely by way of illustratingone example of the invention from which those skilled in the art will beable to apply the invention to various types of engines.

The present invention relates to a combination of parts which have atwo-fold effect upon the engine. First, the present invention results ina more perfect application of oil for lubricating the reciprocatingpistons, main shaft bearings and wrist pin; and this results in, moreperfect operation of the en- .gine and reduction in wear. Secondly, theoil is applied to the walls of the piston in a manner which not onlytends to cool the piston but also to maintain different parts of the topof the piston at a more uniform temperature. v

It is well known that in a hydrocarbon engine of the explosive type thatthe greatest heat duling combustion is created at some point over thetop of the piston, generally near the center of the piston, so that theheat at the outer portions of the piston is considerably lessvthan atthis central point. I have found that instead of reducing thetemperature of thepiston as a whole, it is more important to reduce thetemperature at the hottest point, so that the temperature throughout thepiston will remain more nearly uniform during operation, so that exansion and contraction of the iston wil be more uniform throughout. orthis reason the oil taken from the crank casing is dashed orspread'against the central portion of the p1ston to primarily reduce thetemperature at this point to bring it more nearly to the temperature ofthe other portions of the piston.

Where the oil is spread against the hottest portion of the piston headit is not necessary to depend so much upon the ordinary water or aircooling systems usually employed for cooling the engine and in fact Ihave been able to operate an engine embodying my invention without aradiator and without cool- 9 ing means other than natural radiation.Notwithstanding the absence of the ordinary radiator and the circulatingsystem I have been able to operate the engine with greater efficiencythan the correspondin types of commercial engines. While pointing outthat the use of the present invention may avoid the necessity of usingthe radiator or other outside cooling system, there is nothing in thepresent invention which would pre- 9 vent the use of these wheredesired.

However, by eliminating the ordinary radiator and the water circulatingsystem of the ordinary engine it is possible to reduce the weight of theengine and its operating parts as a whole and to avoid the difficultiesheretofore encountered by defects in the ordinary cooling systemsemployed with hydrocarbon engines. I It is not as important aconsideration to be so able tooperate an engine at relatively lowtemperatures as it is to maintain a more uniform temperature throughoutthe piston and cylinder because the latter condition makes it possibleto obtain greater efiiciency than V where the mean temperature of thevarious parts of the engine is relatively low but where diiferentportions have wide differences in temperature. The present invention, byapplying oil from the crank case primarily to the portion of the pistonwhich ordinarily is heated to the highest degree, makes it possible tokeep this ortion of the piston more nearly within t 1e temperature-rangeof other portions thereof, thereby making the expansion and contractionof the piston as a whole more uniform.

The oil which is projected against the top portion of the piston alsosprays onto the skirt 10o thereof so that the circulating oil has atendpossible to use a piston of iron and to reducethe weight to a pointwhere it compares more favorably in regard to the weight factor with ialuminum pistons. This is a desirable feature because iron pistons areadvantageous over aluminum pistons except for the weight factor.

The method of circulating the oil shown herein partly for cooling.purposes, also insures a more complete application of oil to the Wallsof the cylinders than is possible with the previous oiling systems. Thisis true of the oil supplied to the main bearings of thecrank shaft.

Another advantage of my invention is that theengine may be run for longperiods before requiring changing of the oil in the crank case. In mosthydrocarbon engines the oil which strikes the under side of the head ofthe piston does so-in small quantities and the excessive heat in thepiston head causes the portion of the oil to be partly burned and as aresult carbon particles are deposited on the under side of the pistonhead. Some of these carbon particles fall back into the oil andcirculate with it and they tend to cut the various bearing surfaces. For this reason it is necessary to renew the oil in the crank casing inmost hydrocarbon engines about every five hundred miles of operation asotherwise the -bearings will be injured by the grinding action of thecarbon. In the present case there is a suflicient supply of oilprojected against the under side of the piston head to actas a coolingagent and prevent the temperature of the piston head from rising to apoint where the oil will be destructively affected so that the carbonparticles referred to are not formed in the present engine even after operation over long periods such as a year.

Other features and advantages of the invention will be set forth in thefollowing de- V taileddescription of one embodiment of the invention.

In the drawing forming part of this application, v a Figure 1 is avertical, sectional view through the middle of a hydrocarbon engineembodying my invention, the engine illustrated containing two cylinders,

Figure 2 is a vertical, sectional view taken on the line 2-2 of Figurel, and

.more in detail hereinafter.

' Figure 3 is a sectional view taken on the line 3-3 of Figure 1.

' As has been pointed out above, the present invention may be applied toa hydrocarbon engine having'one or any greater number of cylinders and Ideem it suficient to enable those skilled in the art to apply theinvention to illustrate the same in an engine having two cylinders, asshown in the accompanying drawing, but I do not limit the invention toapplication to an engine having any particular number of cylinders. Theinvention may be applied to different types of engines.

In the drawing I have shown a crank casing 1 of ordinary constructionwhich, together with the lower portion of the cylinder block 2 forms ahousing for the crank which is formed on the crank shaft 3. The cylinderblock is shown as provided with two cylinders 4, 42 in which two pistons5, 5 reciprocate, it being understood that the mixture of fuel and airis exploded within the cylinder chambers between the heads and the topsof the respective pistons in accordance with common practice in the art.

Each piston is shown as composed of a top horizontal wall 6, and of acylindrical wall or skirt 7, extending downwardly therefrom and I haveindicated both of these walls as being of less thickness than the wallsof pistons as heretofore used in hydrocarbon engines because the presentinvention, as stated above, makes it possible to use pistons with thinwalls,.and therefore of light construction. However, I do not limit theapplicaton reciprocates within its respective cylinder and each isprovided with suitable rings 8 which may be of ordinary or any specialform as my invention requires no modification of the piston rings butpermits the use of any type. The bosses 9 extending inwardly fromopposite sides .of the skirt 7 form bearings for the wrist pin 10 onwhich the connecting rod 11 may be pivotally connected. Any type ofwrist pin and hearing may be used'as far as the'present invention isconcerned, but the connecting rod is drilled to provide oil grooves, aswill be pointed out Inasmuch as I have shown an engine hav ing twopistons, I have shown the crank shaft 3 as provided with two crankthrows, one for each piston, and it will be understood that in an enginehaving one cylinder there will be but one crank throw; or, if theenginehas a greater number of pistons than that illustrated, there maybea corresponding increase shaft. In describing the engine illustrated, itmay be ointed out that'each crank throw s prefera ly formed of a disk 12of circu- 12 in the number of crank throws on the crank lar form,preferably integral with the crank shaft and disposed concentrically inrelation to the axis thereof.

Between this disk .and the diagonal member 13 of the crank throw thereis a crank pin 14 which rotates around the axis of the crank shaft andon which the lower end of conforming to the periphery of the crank pinand also having a lateral flange 30 provided with apertures to receivethe connecting bolts therethrough. I have shownshims 21 clamped betweenthe flanges 17, 30 and these are adapted to be adjusted laterally sothat their inner edges 31' may be brought 1nto close relation to theperiphery of the pin 14 in order to prevent the oil from passing backand forth beyond the shims. The bolts 32 pass through the flanges 17 and30 and through the shims and serve to hold these parts in assembledrelation around the crank in. p The construction is the same for bothpistons and the descriptionappliesto both alike, but to distinguish theparts unprimed numbers will be applied to those parts which relate tothe left hand piston in Figure 1,-and corresponding primed numbers willbe applied to the parts which relate to the right hand piston in Figure1.

The main bearing 33 for the crank shaft is shown as formed in the crankhousing and there is an oil groove 34 formed in the wall of the housing,it being illustrated as disposed diagonally so that its upperend-communicates with an oil pocket 35. formed between the outer wall ofthe housing and an inner partition or wall 36 which is shown as castintegral with the housing .and spaced from the outer wall toform the oilocket. The oil groove 34 extends downwar ly and communicates with thelongitudinal groove 37 disposed along the face of the crank shaft andterminating at the inner'end of themain bearing 33. The oil for the mainbearing, therefore, travels from the pocket downwardly through the oilgroove 34 and'thence into the oil groove 37 in which it is distributedonto the shaft within the main bearing. One face of the disk 12 isprovided with a circular groove 38 which extends inwardly within thedisk and preferably at an angle to its axis, as shown in Figure 1. Thisgroove is preferably formed eccentric to theaxis of thecrank shaft, sothat when the parts are receive the oil which flows out between the-crank shaft andthe main bearing. The purpose in making this grooveeccentric is so that the oil which is received from the end of the mainbearing into the groove will, by reason of the revolution of the disk 12be forced towards-the portion of the groove which is furthest from theaxisv of the crank shaft and which portion I have indicated by thenumeral 39. This forcing of the oil towards one part of the groove iscaused by centrifugal action, due to the revolution of the crank.

There is a'port 40 which at one end communicates with the groove 39 ofthe disk and it projects diagonally through a portion of the crank pinand atthe other end it communicates with the peripheral groove 41 formedin the head of-the connecting rod around the crank pin.

The cap 18 which connects the connecting rod with the crank pin isprovided with outlet .ports 42 extending through the same for thepurpose of permitting oil to flow out of that portion of the groove 41which is below the shims 21. I have shown a flange or rim 43 on one sideof the disk 12 and as the latter disk dips into the oil 44 at the bottomof the crank case the oil carried up on the surface of the disk isconcentrated towards the rim 43 and it flies from this into the oilpocket 35 to be circulated in the manner hereinafter described.

Before the engine is started most of the oil will be in the lower partof the crank case as shown in Figure 1, and the several disks 12 dipinto this oil. When the engine is started the crank shafts and the crankwill revolve and of course the pistons will reciprocate with the pistonsand the cranks, an oscillating motion taking place in the connecting rodwhere it pivots on the wrist pin 10. During the operation of the enginethe rapidly revolving disks 12 which dip into the oil in the bottom ofthe crank case, carrv up the oil on their surfaces and centrifugalaction causes this oil to collect on the rim 43 and be thrown off towardthe pocket 35 and while all of the oil on the surface of the disk maynot be thrown into the pocket, a suflicient proportion will be to carryout the circulation of oil as herein described.

The disk 12 will be continually picking up the oil in the bottom of thecrank caseand throwing it into the pocket 35. The oil will flow fromthis pocket downwardly through the port 34 and into the oil groove 37 tosupply the main bearing with lubricating oil. The oil will thence passout of the end of the main bearing, i. e., between the surface ofthebearing and the surface of the shaft 3 into the groove 39' in therevolvingv disk. Centrifugal action will cause the oil .iso

the connecting I der will be thrown back into the bottom of: the crankcase and become part of the body.

which enters this groove to be thrust out wardly toward the eccentricportion 39 and into the port 40. The oil will forced upwardly in.thelatter port and 1nto the peripheral groove 41.

When the crank is in the upper position,

, as shown at the left in Figure 1, the oil which is forced up throughthe port and inmthe groove 41 wil passmpwardly through the central bore47 extending lengthwise through rod. At the upper end of this bore andwithin the member 48 of the connectingirod 'the bore 47 communicateswith a plurality of ports'49 which extend around the wrist pin 10 andwhich have their opentravels up through the bore 47 passes into theports 49 some of this oil serving to lubricate between the wrist pin andthe member 48 of the connecting rod and the balance-of the oil beingprojected in the form of drops, jets or streams against the undersurface of the 'top wall 6 of the piston. After striking the top wall ofthe piston, the oil sprays laterally, and travels down the inner surfaceof the skirt 7 F The oil which dces'not re-. main in contact with theiston or the cyliuof oil that is constantly present there.

The centrifugal action is sufliclent to force the oil from the groove 38upwardly through the port 40 when the crank pin is in the upper half'ofits stroke, and the force also causes the oil to move upwardly throu hthe bore 47 in the connecting rod and out t rough the ports 49 to .sprayagainst the piston in the mannerjust described. *When the crank pin 14together with the connecting rod lland piston are in the lower half ofthe stroke the bore 47 will be in communication with that half of thegroove 41 which is below the shims and during this time the oil willcontinue to flow groove 41 but instead of flowing up 1nto the A wardlythrough the. connecting rod it will flow downwardly through the releaseapertures 42 and fall down into the bottom of the housing. During thistime there is no upward circulation through the connecting rod but thebore 47 of the latter nevertheless remains in communication withthegroove 41 above the shims so that no'oil' can return orfiow back Thepurpose ofth'e release apertures 42 is to permit continuation of theflow of the oil from the groove 38 in the disk 12 and through the. port40 so that when the crankpin is on the upper half of the stroke carbonin which the crank is and the .port 40 communicates with the. portion ofthe groove 41 which is above the shims the oil will be in motion whenthis communication is established. Inasmuch as hydroengines are operatedup to 2000 or even more revolutions per minute the period makin theupper half of its revolution is very brie and if the variings directedupwardly. The oil which ous oil channels were depleted of oil during thelower half of the stroke there would not be sufii'cient time for thechannels to fill dur--' ing the upper half of the stroke and for the oilto beprojected from the top of the co n there is always} but in theboreff 40 so that as soon as communication is estab--' lished betweenthe bore 40 and the. bore 47 of the connecting rod, which occurs duringthe upper half of the stroke, the oil will immediately be forced out ofthe upper end of the connecting rod tov spray against the under sideofthe top wall of the piston. In other words, during the brief intervalthat the spraying actiontakes place, no time will be required toestablish the flow through the various oil channels because the oil inthe bore 47 is already in motion. By dividing the groove 41 into upperand lower portions by means of the shims 21, and by providing the reliefapertures 42 it is possible to maintain through the port 40 and througha portion of i ,the groove 41 in order to maintain a supply of oilwithin the port 40'ready for this oil to circulate through the upperhalfof the groove 41'and through the bore 47 of the connecting rod when thecrank ismaking the upper half of its stroke. The oil which passesthrough the'r'elief apertures 42 is performing at such times no usefulpurpose other than permit ting the flow to continue as; described. Theportions of the shims which project into the groove 41 'di'vide thisgroove off lI1t0 upper and lower sections, the uppersectioncommunicating with the bore of the connecting rod while the.lower section discharges through the relie apertures 42.

While the engine'is in operation oil is continually picked up by thedisk 12 and is thrown by the latter into the oil, pocket 35 to becirculated in the manner above described. The oil, after passing fromthe main bearmg, enters the groove 38 and because of the eccentricposition of this groove the oil is forced through the bore 40 andcontinues to circulate either upwardly-through the connecting rod,during the upper half of the stroke, or downwardly through the reliefapertures 42 back into the lower portion of the housing. v

It will be apparent from the above that there is an ample supply of oilflowing and through the main bearings and in addition there through theconnecting rod to be splashed against the top wall of the piston. Thecentrifugal action of the oil in the eccentric is a supply of oilflowing upwardly groove 38 not only serves to propelthe oil 1 upper halfof the stroke is added to the action taking place within the eccentricgroove. It will be apparent that the flow of oil against the under sideof the piston will be greater as the speed of the engine increases andthis is a desirable factor because when the engineiis running athighspeed it is necessary to supply a greater flow of oil to carryaway'heat' from the piston. After the oil which has been circulatedagainst the piston is thrown down to the bottom of the crank casing itloses a large percentage of the heat which it received while in contactwith the piston, through radiation through the walls of the crankcasing.

When starting an engine incold weather it is generally necessary tooperate it at reduced speed for several minutes in order to permit theparts to warm up to a point where.

- they will operate without damage before the ing to the engine is putunder load.

Where the present 1nvention is employed the engine may be brought up tooperating temperature much more quickly than heretofore because of therapid circulation of the oil in the manner here described. It is, infact, desirable to operate the enginezuntil the oil in the crank casingand the lower portions of the cylinders has begun to atomize or form amist before the engine is called upon to operate a load, and thisrequires that the oil be heated tojan eificient operating condition.Whereas in former practice it was necessary to run the en ine idle, whenstart in in cold weather, or some minutes to br1ng the oil up tooperating temperature, with the present invention this condition isreached after a few strokes of the engine, ow-

rapid circulation \of the oil in contact with the hottest portion of thepiston. 1

The present invention improves the circulation of oil between the partswhich require lubrication and it also maintains more even temperaturethroughout the piston as well as serving to cool the latter as a wholeand the bearings to a temperature approximating the temperature of thewalls of the cylinders. tions may be made without departing from thespirit of my invention and I desire to cover all changes andmodifications which come within the scope of the following claims.

Having described my invention, what I claim is: v

1. In ahydrocarbon engine the combination of a cylinder, a pistonreciprocating therein, a shaft having a crank throw, a connecting rodconnected between said crank throw and said piston and having alongitudinal bore therethroughfor thepassage of oil and having an outletfor the oil at the .ternately with the compartments Various changes andmodificaupper end of the connecting rod to cause the oil flowing throughsaid bore to-be projected .municating .alternately with the compartmentsof said groove whereby said ort is in communication with the bore ofsaid con.- necting rod during the upper half of the piston stroke and incommunication with said discharge aperture during the lower half of thepiston stroke, and means for supplying oil tojsaid second mentionedport.

2. In a hydrocarbon engine the combination of a cylinder, a pistonreciprocating therein, a shaft having a crank throw, a connecting rodconnected between said crank throw and said piston and provided with alongitudinal bore therethrough for the passage of oil, and having anoutlet for the oil at the upper end of the connecting rod to cause theoil flowing through said bore to be rojected against the under side ofthe piscompartments, said crank throw having a throw andcommunicatingport extending into the crank pin thereof,

and terminating at the periphery of said crank pin whereby as the crankthrow revolves said latter port will communicate 'alof said groovewhereby said crank throw ort is in communication with the bore of saiconnecting rod during the upper half of the engine strike and incommunication with said discharge aperture during the lower half of theengine stroke,

3. In a hydrocarbon engine tion of a cylinder, '9. piston reciprocatingtherein, -a shaft having a crank throw, a connecting rod connectedbetween said crank throw and saidpiston, said connectin rod having alongitudinal bore therethroug for "the passage of oil and having anoutlet for the oil at the upper end of the connecting rod to cause theoil flowing through said bore to be projected against the under side ofthe piston head, said connecting rod having a head provided with acircumferential groove extending around the crank pin of said crankthrow, and communicating with said bore, said crank head having shimsand means for supplying oil to said second mentioned port.

the combine-- I against the under side means forming a pocket to hold asupply clamped between the members of said head and projecting into saidgroove to dividethe same into upper and lower compartments, said headhaving a discharge aperture for discharging oil from one of saidcompartments, 'said crank throw havinga port extending into the crankpin thereof and communicating alternately with the compartments of saidgroove whereby said crank throw. port is in communicatlon with the boreof said connecting rod during the upper half of the engine stroke and incommunication with said discharge aperture during the lower half of theengine stroke whereby there may be a continuous flow of oil through saidsecond mentioned port, and means for supplying oil to said latter port.

4. In a hydrocarbontengine having a crank casing provided with a mainbearing,'the combination of a crank shaft journa'led therein and havingacrank throw, a cylinder, a piston reciprocating. therein, a connectingrod connected between said crank throw' and said piston and providedwith a longitudinal bore having an openingfor directing oil "flowingthrough said bore of oil and means for conducting oil from said pocketto said main bearing, said crank throw-being adaptedto carry oil upfromthe lower portion of the crank casing and to discharge it into saidpocket, said con-' necting rod having a head provided with a groovedisposed around a crank pin of said crank throw and means for dividingsaid of the piston head,

discharge ports, said crank throw having a groove to receive the oilpassing from said main bearing and having a port communiclating-at oneend with said groove and at t e 6. In a hydrocarbon'engine thecombination of a cylinder, a piston reciprocating other endcommunicating with the- ,groove-in said connecting rod.

therein, a shaft having a crank throw, a connecting rod connectedbetween said crank throw and said piston and having a longitudinal boretherethrough: for the passage of oil and having an outlet for the oil atthe upper end of the connecting rod to cause the oil flowing throughsaid bore to be projected against the'under side of said piston a headhead, said connecting rod having provided with a groove communicatingwith said bore, means for dividing said groove into separatecompartments, said head having a discharge aperture for dischar 'ng oilfrom one of said compartments, sai crank throw having a port extendinginto the crank pin thereof and communicating alternately with thecompartments of said groove whereby said port is in communication withthe bore of said connecting rodduring the upper half of the pistonstroke and in communication with said discharge aperture during thelower half of the piston stroke, and means for supplying oil to saidsecond mentioned port. v

Signed at the city, countyv and State of New York this 4th day ofOctober,,1930.

' ELLINGWOOD H. TOWLE.

groove into upper and lower compartments,

saidrcrank throw having a groove to receive the oil passing from saidmain bearing and having a port communicating at one end with said grooveand municating periodically with the port in said connectin rod. 7

5. In a ydrocarbon engine having a crank casing provided with a mainbearing, the

combmation of a crank shaft j ournaled there-- a cylinder, a

in and having a crank throw, piston reciprocating therein, a connectingrod connected between said crank throw and said piston and provided witha longitudinal bore having an opening for directing oil flowing throughsaid bore against the under side of the piston head means forming apocket to hold a supply 0 oil and means for conducting oil from saidpocket to said main bearing, said crank throw being adapted to carry oilup from the lower portion of the crank said pocket, said connecting rodaving a casing and to dischar e it into at the other end comheadprovided with a groove disposed around a a crank pin of said crankthrow, and means for dividing said groove into upper and lowercompartments one of said" compartments communicating with the connectingrod portand the other compartment having

